


bombs away, bombs away

by takunism (weareinnoir)



Category: JO1 (Japan Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, M/M, and they were ROOMMATES, domestic pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26619037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weareinnoir/pseuds/takunism
Summary: Or: Five things Ruki said instead of "I love you", and one time he said what he meant.
Relationships: Shiroiwa Ruki/Yonashiro Sho
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	bombs away, bombs away

i.

"It reminded me of you." Ruki's cheeks are tinged just the _tiniest_ bit pink, and he's looking _anywhere_ but Sho's face. It's so _charming_ that even though what Ruki's pretty clearly making an excuse, it still brings some color to Sho's cheeks, too.

He looks at the little glass hibiscus that's now at the center of their coffee table, carefully running it over in his hands — it's a pretty dark red, and just big enough to fit in the palm of his hands. "I was out shopping," Ruki continues, apropos of nothing. "Y'know, groceries — and they had this stand at the mall, you know, all these little glass ornaments —"

"It's beautiful," Sho interrupts, fondness bubbling up in his chest.

"It's 'cause you're gentle," Ruki finishes. At this point, his usual confident tone has returned, though he's still blushing, and he's still avoiding any and all eye contact. "I read a book on flower language, once — hibiscus flowers symbolize gentleness."

 _Oh._ The matter-of-fact way that Ruki had said it — like Sho being gentle is as sure a thing as the night following the day — makes the color in Sho's cheeks spread to his ears and neck, and all of sudden, Ruki's not the only one avoiding eye contact. "Th-thanks, Ruki," he manages, in a voice far quieter than he'd like, resisting the urge to hold the glass flower up to his chest; when Ruki's sound asleep later, if Sho goes to the kitchen table to run it over in his hands, well, that's his business.

* * *

ii.

Sho doesn't oversleep, usually; he has a strict schedule of going to the gym early, going to work shortly after, and coming home to cook dinner when work is over. So on the days he _does_ oversleep — today's not even that bad, though he'll miss out on his usual workout — it's enough to leave him frazzled, to say the least.

He's rubbing at the sleep dust in his eyes and trying to make sure his hair is straight and buttoning up his shirt wrong — wrong — _right_ , there we go, and nearly stumbling into the kitchen for at least _one_ cup of coffee. He's probably not going to have time, and he can already feel the headache pounding at the base of his skull, it's just a matter of time —

But instead of a sad glance at his phone for the time and a realization that his morning coffee isn't coming, the next thing that hits Sho is the smell of his favorite dark roast. "About time you woke up, sleepyhead," Ruki says, leaning against the kitchen counter with an affectionate smile. He's holding one of Sho's tumblers in his hands. "I figured I'd make you coffee — wasn't sure you'd have time."

And Sho's tired, still, but suddenly, it's _gratefulness_ that takes the forefront of his mind. He takes the tumbler gingerly — he doesn't quite trust his hands, because he's still drowsy, it has nothing to do with the fact that his roommate just made him his favorite thing in the world — and takes a long, long sip; god, it's even brewed to perfection.

He can feel the brain fog lifting already. "Thanks, Ruki," he says. "I really appreciate it."

Ruki shrugs. "Have a good day at work," he replies, simply, and while Sho rushes out of the apartment to catch his train, the smile doesn't come close to leaving his face.

* * *

iii.

Even though he's now a proper salaryman with the kind of office job he'd have hated to have when he was younger, Sho's guitar is still where he goes for comfort; he's so tired from a long day at the office that he can't sleep, and the sounds of him faintly strumming along to old ballads are at least a slightly more comforting noise than the radiator jingling.

"...for the person I love," Sho finishes, quietly, letting the last few notes of the song ring out before standing up to put his guitar away. That's when he notices Ruki at his door. "Oh," he says, voice soft, as if Ruki's presence is a welcome surprise. (Or, well, _because_ it's a welcome surprise. He's just not going to say _that_ out loud. It's late enough at night that he's kind of worried, honestly, but his cheer at Ruki being there overrides that.)

His expression then turns to one of panic. "Oh, god, I wasn't keeping you awake, was I? I'm sorry, I just — was having some trouble sleeping, and —"

"I knew you could sing like that, but _wow_ ," Ruki interrupts. " _Wow._ "

Maybe it's just his tiredness — or maybe that's what he'll blame it on, later — but sure enough, Sho feels a blush creeping up his cheeks. "I... it's just stress relief."

"Why are you making excuses? Your voice is beautiful," Ruki insists, a frown crossing his face.

"Because you shouldn't be awake at this hour, firstly."

"By that logic, neither should you."

"Yeah, but —"

"Know anything by Acid Black Cherry?" Ruki interrupts, walking into Sho's room and sitting next to him on his bed. "We could sing together, if you wanted."

Sho uselessly opens and closes his mouth a few times, as if the entire knowledge of songs he knows has just been thrown out the window — because it kind of has. "I think so," he manages softly, after a moment, hoping that his half-memory of a song he knows Ruki likes will do the trick.

* * *

iv.

Admittedly, Sho doesn't watch many of Ruki's YouTube videos; he couldn't tell the difference between the brushes Ruki uses in his makeup tutorials if he tried, and he's usually so busy with work that he doesn't have time to watch the non-makeup ones before he heads off to sleep. But the results of filming said videos, well —

"It started snowing like _crazy_ halfway through my shoot," Ruki says, the pout audible in his tone, by way of greeting, as he walks into the apartment. "I'm gonna go take a bath for the rest of forever."

"You'll end up all raisiny," Sho calls, not even looking up from his laptop and the spreadsheets boring holes into his eyes. "Don't stay in too long, or you'll get sick."

"I won't," Ruki promises, before slamming the door to the bathroom.

It's at least another half hour until Ruki gets out of the bath, though Sho's more focused on work than on the time. It's only at the sensation of arms wrapping around his neck and a head resting on top of his that he snaps out of his concentration. "Wha —"

"You're warm," Ruki says softly. He squeezes a little tighter, and instinctually, Sho leans back into Ruki's touch, and holds his arms in his hands.

It's like Sho's entire body relaxes — he must've been more tense than he thought. Just being around Ruki makes his muscles looser, and his breathing slows down to a far more comfortable pace. _I needed this,_ he thinks, letting his eyes flutter shut.

(His small _wait a second, did I just have a cuddle session with my roommate?_ crisis only comes when Ruki lets go to edit what parts of his video are usable; it ends up being the only thing he thinks about for the rest of the day, work be damned.)

* * *

v.

A week after... whatever _that_ was, it's still on Sho's mind; he can think about other things, but sure enough, when he's cooking dinner — when he's telling Ruki _welcome home_ when he comes home from a shoot — when he's wondering whether to play guitar or to just try and get some sleep — it's Ruki, and the casual intimacy of that moment, on his mind. And while Sho _tries_ to focus on the movie — it's good, for a romcom completely consisting of George Michael music — his mind still, still drifts.

Maybe it's just his proximity to Ruki that's making his heart race, or maybe it's the way that Ruki's head is resting on his shoulder. What Sho _really_ wants is to wrap an arm around Ruki's shoulder, but he's suppressing that urge with all of his energy. Not even Ruki nuzzling his face closer can make him crack.

But words, apparently, can. "Hey, Sho."

"Hm?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Sho's so surprised at that — at _four words_ that, admittedly, he's kind of giddy to hear — that he turns around, and realizes _just how close_ Ruki's gotten. "What?"

"Can I kiss you," Ruki repeats. "You know, like... I mean, it's kissing. It doesn't take a lot of explanation."

"I think this time, it kind of does." As much as Sho _wishes_ he could sound cool in this situation — no, no he can't.

Ruki pouts. "I tried to make the atmosphere nice and everything. There's a nice movie, we're cuddling, and... and I really want to kiss you." His cheeks get a little bit redder. 

_Oh,_ Sho thinks — _So that's what it feels like to have your heart skip a beat._ "Ruki..."

"I-if you don't, or whatever..."

"No, that's not it." Sho brushes some of Ruki's hair out of his eyes gently. "If you'd said something sooner..."

"I tried. A bunch of times. It just ended up being something different every time," Ruki mumbles, cheeks turning pink.

"Well, I'm glad you got it out now." Sho wraps an arm around Ruki's waist, pulling him just a little closer. "Come here."

Ruki obliges, running his fingers through Sho's hair and trying his best not to grin. The movie, after that, is pretty much forgotten.

* * *

(+i)

It's surprisingly comfortable, now that the both of them have established how they feel about each other; Sho appears on an "Introducing my Boyfriend!" video on Ruki's channel that apparently shoots _far_ up in views almost immediately, and Ruki gets to go to Sho's work dinners (that usually end up just being the two of them sneaking off into a bathroom to make out, but that's neither here nor there), but the two of them still cook together, and sing together, and cuddle close when it gets cold. The first time Ruki says "I love you," it's as casual as anything else; the two of them are pulled close to each other in bed one snowy night when it slips out.

"I love you too," Sho replies, stroking Ruki's hair gently, before it fully registers. "...What?"

"I love you," Ruki repeats, laughing. "I've wanted to say that for a really, really long time."

"I love you too," Sho repeats, matching Ruki's smile, gazing at him with — well, now, he can call it what it is. _Love._ He pulls Ruki in for a gentle kiss and rubs their noses together. "I love you a lot."

"I love you a lot too," Ruki whispers, stealing one last kiss before drifting off to sleep. Sho follows soon after, feeling so, so at home with Ruki in his arms.

**Author's Note:**

> so i do not know how to write domestic fluff. that's the lesson to be learned here. but i tried and that's what matters! 
> 
> title from owl city's "if my heart was a house", and the song sho's singing is morning musume's "i wish". also, the things ruki says come from [this list.](https://p0ck3tf0x.tumblr.com/post/98502010026/one-hundred-ways-to-say-i-love-you) thanks to kukki for reading this through for me!
> 
> come bother me on twitter for being bad at writing: @jo1taku


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